My friend’s husband has it. Another friend’s father. In fact, one in every six adults has high cholesterol. That’s 17% of the adult population. A recent Gallup survey found drugs for high cholesterol were the second most prescribed medications in this country! All those people at risk and yet high cholesterol is one of the major controllable risk factors for coronary heart disease.
Scientifically speaking, your chances of having high cholesterol are greater if you are a male, are older, are a woman experiencing post-menopause, or have a family history of high cholesterol. You are also at risk if your diet is high in saturated fat and cholesterol like bacon, hot dogs, and pizza. Now, you can’t help your genes or your age but you can help what you eat!
It adds up fast!
According to the American Heart Association, eating one egg for breakfast, drinking two cups of coffee with 1 tablespoon of half-and-half each, lunching on 4 ounces of lean skinless turkey breast with one tablespoon of mayonnaise, and eating a 6-ounce serving of broiled short loin porterhouse steak for dinner yields 510 mg of dietary cholesterol. That’s nearly twice the recommended daily amount!
The good news is you can lower your cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease without expensive medication by focusing on 3 key lifestyle changes.
